Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

I think Bellodgia by Caron is a nice interpretation of carnations, spicy but still smooth and somewhat warm.
L´Air du Temps by Nina Ricci is also a carnation scent, if not a soliflore (nor is Bellodgia, btw).

Everything passes. Everything changes. Just do what you think you should do.
--Bob Dylan

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

The weird thing is so many of actual flowers now have no smell!!!!!! I cannot understand this thing for flowers with no smell, roses are the same now too. My father who was into gardening always said Pinks(looks like a carnation but smaller flowers and the same family), had more smell.

For me the closest I have ever came to these is Caron's Bellodgia, but please not the edt. You need to get the edp at the least.

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

Thank you everyone for all your suggestions. There are more carnation perfumes then than I could possibly have thought of. The only other thing is if my friend would actually like them or not. It is great to see how everyone is so helpful here. I am going to have to make a list of them. I have never actually smelled a real carnation straight from the garden so I am not sure how a carnation should really smell. Have a great day.

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

We had a lot of carnations lining our driveway when I was growing up, and I loved to smell them!

Some years ago, I visited a local nursery and bought some plants so we could enjoy their fragrance again, but they they died; probably I should have amended the soil first (we have clay soil.) This thread makes me want to plant them again.

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

Hey I could go to a nursery and get some real fresh ones. That is a good idea. I wonder if my friend really realizes what real fresh, non-florist carnations smell like? You should definitely go get some and plant them Today when we went to my parent's for Easter dinner, my father brought in some purple hyacinths. OH my did they smell lovely!

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

Originally Posted by Rain

LUSH's "Potion" solid perfume smells wonderful and smells of carnations. Sadly, it's been discontinued, but if you could get your hands on some...

i thought of the same scent. it's really peppery and warm. i worked at a LUSH for a few months when I was unemployed and managed to get a tin before it became discontinued. shame, as it's quite a nice scent.

Beauty is but the sensible image of the Infinite.

Like truth and justice it lives within us; like virtue and the moral law it is a companion of the soul.

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

Ava Luxe's Oeillet Blanc is a bouquet of beautiful white carnations - dewey, fresh and creamy and not too spicy, it's the smoothest carnation fragrance I know of. I'm really hoping she brings this one back when she resumes her perfume line...which I'm hoping is soon.

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

Wow! Never expected to get this much help and so many responses . I told my friend today that I was still researching carnation perfumes for her.
I also suggested we go to a nursery to see what real carnations that do not have the scent bred out of them smell like. She told me she remembers them from when she was little. I never had that experience, but I am glad for the help and all the choices. Peace

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

Originally Posted by Rain

LUSH's "Potion" solid perfume smells wonderful and smells of carnations. Sadly, it's been discontinued, but if you could get your hands on some...

I have small amount of solid Potion,thanks to dear Irina, its very beautiful, but when i tried L Eau by Diptique i noticed that is the same kind of scent just that Diptique is more refined , more noble take on carnation, lush is touch more spicy and raw , but both are beautiful!! Big thumbs up for both:-)

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

I like Ava-Luxe versions and also Bourbon French's Mon Idee is a great carnation. Largely single note, others might be able to tease out basenotes in this, but I just smell a deep bright carnation scent. There is something somewhat sad in some carnation scents, but not this one. I also love Poivre, but the peppery feel is extreme in the parfum.

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

L'eau de Diptyque is certainly very clovey. For intense clove-ness, though, there are also $$$$ JARs like Golconda and Diamond Water.

I recently smelled vintage Bellodgia parfum and vintage Nuit de Noel - likely the best references for the famous Caron carnation base. Unfortunately, none of this is found in the modern versions (though NdN is still good, in a more ambery-animalic way).

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

Originally Posted by cacio

L'eau de Diptyque is certainly very clovey. For intense clove-ness, though, there are also $$$$ JARs like Golconda and Diamond Water.

I recently smelled vintage Bellodgia parfum and vintage Nuit de Noel - likely the best references for the famous Caron carnation base. Unfortunately, none of this is found in the modern versions (though NdN is still good, in a more ambery-animalic way).

cacio

What is the real difference between Potion as reference for carnation and L Eau:-) ? I did not notice it much, this is why i mentioned LEau by Diptique because i think this is good carnation example,

And from another place i found thisCarnation – Clove, rose, orange, maybe some pepper. Cool, floral, spicy.

This is exactly what i get in L Eau which is very beautiful, it has also some cinnamon. thats why i put it out on purpose:-) why clove and not carnation? :-)

Clove would have to be a bit more bitter and unpleasant, simple, i am not very fond of it:-)

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

I said clove because the note is the central one in carnation - I agree though that pure clove is much more intense and sharp. I suspect one of the main component of cloves/carnation is now restricted (eugenol?) which would explain Caron's change of base.

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

The benchmark carnation for me is the rare Roger & Gallet Blue Carnation, long discontinued and very hard to find.

I was fortunate enough to get a pristine 6ml miniature. The initial blast of heavy clove, possibly due to the use of Carnation absolute, softens to the most amazing replication of the carnation. I'm talking florist's carnation, clovey and spicy, not the softer, rounder, gentler aroma of the pinks and sweet williams.

Second on my list is vintage Bellodgia pure parfum. Again, I came across a pristine, unopened bottle and it is a different thing altogether to the EDP available now. Bellodgia parfum again has a strident, heavy clove opening, but also softens considerably to acquire the typical softer and rounder fragrance of the flower.

I love the modern Bellodgia EDP, but do not regard it as as good a rendition of carnation as the parfum. This is because it is extremely sweet and is a floral blend, more than the soliflore feel given off by the parfum.

I tried CDG, Garafanl and Mona di Orio, but didn't find them any better than Bellodgia. I find many interpretations of the carnation are essentially only clove dominated, and if you smell a fresh carnation there is far more to it than just the peppery clove. There is also the element that softens the clove.

Re: Are there any real carnation perfumes?

Originally Posted by LiliB

The benchmark carnation for me is the rare Roger & Gallet Blue Carnation, long discontinued and very hard to find.

I was fortunate enough to get a pristine 6ml miniature. The initial blast of heavy clove, possibly due to the use of Carnation absolute, softens to the most amazing replication of the carnation. I'm talking florist's carnation, clovey and spicy, not the softer, rounder, gentler aroma of the pinks and sweet williams. ...

I recently came across a GC-MS analysis of this.
Interestingly, there's not a drop of carnation absolute present, but a whopping 60% eugenol, with its sweet, spicy clove scent.
The stuff of IFRA nightmares !